Page 55 of The Bosun

“I think so. I know I’ll have to do laundry while I’m there, but if I need anything else, I can buy it. Don’t worry about me. I’ll call you once I get settled into where they’re housing us, and I’ll either call or text you every day.”

“It’s hard not to worry about you. There was a boy no older than you, who died two days ago.”

He hadn’t been a firefighter. He had tried to fend off the fire headed straight toward his house with only a hose hooked to the spigot at the front of his house. I understood he didn’t want to lose his house or worldly possessions, but it shouldn’t have been at the cost of his life. There were too many people who hadn’t evacuated from the area from what I’d last heard. They needed more manpower to try to get the residents to see the best thing for them was to evacuate until the fire wasn’t endangering their lives.

“I probably won’t even be put in the front lines, but I’ve got to go. It’s hard to be here when so many are in need in Southern California.”

My dad stood, holding out his hand for me to take. The moment I stood, he wrapped me up in a bear hug. I hugged him back just as hard when I heard his deep inhalation of breath.

“I love you, dad.”

“I know. I love you too,” he said gruffly.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, letting me know Jason was here and it was time to go.

Squeezing me one last time, Dad patted me on the back before he pulled away, his eyes glassy. “Call me when you get there to let me know you landed safely.”

“I will,” I promised. I was never going to leave my dad in doubt again.

Striding over to the door, I picked up my things before I headed out on my next mission.

* * *

Eight hours later,Eric and I were stuffed into the back of a van to be taken to the firehouse that would be housing us while we were in California.

“Alright, boys, we’re not going to throw you out into the thick of it first thing,” Donnie, our stocky liaison, said as he drove. “More than anything right now, we need men to go door to door seeing who's home and who isn’t. If they’re home, it’s your job to try and convince them to leave.”

From beside me, Eric's entire face furrowed. “But when can we fight the beast?”

Donnie shook his head and let out an annoyed sigh. “I can’t say. You’ll have to take it up with the chief, but don’t hold your breath. While we need help, we don’t need some guy we don’t know putting himself and others in danger.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, Eric sat back and fumed. Not knowing his background, I couldn’t say if he was justified in being irritated by the possibility of not being up close and personal with the fire. All I knew was I was here to help in any way possible, and it looked as if they needed it. The closer we got to our destination, the brighter orange the sky became. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like closer since it looked like this, and we were fifty miles away. How people thought it was safe to stay in their homes was beyond me when nature was giving them a big warning in the sky.

The other guys who were in the van talked quietly to each other, but I kept my eyes on the sky. Eric wasn’t up for talking anyway as he tapped his fingers on his knee, huffed every few minutes, and glared up at the front. After being stuck in traffic for almost two hours, Donnie swung the van into a spot at the firehouse.

As we all piled out, Donnie stood off to the side, his gaze directed at Eric. “Are we going to have a problem?”

“No, sir,” Eric replied stiffly.

“Good, now I’ll show you where you can store your things. It’s not much, but we’ve got more guys here than usual with all the volunteers.” He held open the door for us as we all walked in. “There should be dinner, so grab a bite to eat, and we’ll have a meeting to brief you on the status of the fire along with where you’ll be going tomorrow morning. I suggest you get some good sleep because it might be the last time you get a full night.”

Taking a look around, it wasn’t much different from the station I’d been training at, but it felt different. The energy was electrified. Creating a buzz through my body, making me feel like, for the first time in years, I was right where I was supposed to be.

14

Stella

Unfortunately for me,Pen and Crimson Heat had already made their pass-through Spain a couple of months ago, so I wouldn’t be able to see if Remy was working on Seas the Day. Even if he was, it would have been awkward as hell for me to call and then show up out of the blue. If he was there, he’d probably be working, and it was possible he’d forgotten about me.

Since we weren’t going to hijack a yacht in Spain, I didn’t care where we went. The sooner, the better was what worked for Lexie. She had a big photoshoot in a week she needed to be back for, and then Ryder had one someplace I’d never heard of.

It wasn’t easy trying to get Pen’s boss, Christiano, to give me the information on what hotel they were staying at, but I assured him I wouldn’t do anything that would make Pen deviate away from her job. I knew he didn’t know me, but what did he think I’d do. Pen had never given him a reason to think she wouldn’t be one thousand percent professional. That was unless he thought she was doing the lead singer of the band. Still, Pen seeing me was no cause for concern, and after about thirty minutes, Christiano gave me the address of the hotel they’d be staying at tonight. He even threw in tickets with backstage passes.

“I can’t believe we’re going to Amsterdam,” I said a little too loudly, going by the looks I got from the rest of the people on the plane. “Have you ever been?”

Lexie’s brows furrowed as she thought about it. I wished I had the problem of not remembering all the places I’d gone. I’d never traveled since Brock’s going to medical school took precedence over everything else.

“Actually, I don’t think I have. I’ve been to quite a few countries around the Netherlands, but never there.” She leaned her seat back and closed her eyes. “If it’s okay with you, I’m going to try and get a little shut-eye before we land. Ryder and I haven’t been apart for more than a day in three years, and he kept me up way past my bedtime.” One eye opened as she smirked at me and then promptly closed.

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